Vaccine-finder apps everywhere in India with few shots in sight

Type Namaste, the Indian greeting, and a WhatsApp chatbot asks the user’s zip code and instantly throws up a list of vaccination centers nearby. A search on Google Maps shows the route to the nearest clinic with vaccine availability.

Technology giants from Facebook Inc. to Alphabet Inc.’s Google, and startups from Paytm to HealthifyMe, are rolling out a plethora of vaccine finder apps and tools to help schedule shots in a nation where the doses themselves are quickly running out.

India, which has 17.7% of the world’s population, has so far vaccinated 6% of its citizens, according to Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker. With the country gripped by a devastating wave of infections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly opened vaccinations to all adults, leading to a rush of demand.